Here we go again.

Another major parenting spat has grabbed the headlines, inspired by a book called The Conflict by French 'PR billionaire' author Elisabeth Badinter.

Apparently she claims that modern women are 'enslaved' by motherhood and need to be unshackled from oppressive forces such as attachment parenting, breastfeeding on demand, co-sleeping and cloth nappies. Oh yeah, and staying at home to bring up babies.

The book's only just out in English yet there are already multiple articles either cheering her on or rebutting her stance as narrow-framed and generally up her Ivory Tower.

Back away from that lady, she's gonna blow!

Nobody said it out loud but I could tell that's what they were thinking, as I waddled through Lagos airport carrying a suspicious package under my shirt. I was en route to join my husband in London and, despite being only 31 weeks pregnant, I looked ready to pop.

How to Name your Baby

I was 5 months pregnant when my baby daddy called me and said he'd come up with the perfect name for our first son: Ezra.

It felt so right and made the baby already kicking and tumbling inside somehow even more tangible.

There are few things more enjoyable than shopping for a brand new baby....

But with the vast range of products, toys and gizmos on the market it's hard to know where to start.

Buyer beware: avoid sweet little clothes in sizes 0-3 months (those days are over in a blink), toys that are too loud or anything requiring batteries that need replacing more than every 6 months!

For this list of 10 Best Gifts for New Mums and Dads, I've compiled some personal favourites with details of where to find them. Happy hunting!

Easter holidays are upon us and as always London's buzzing with fun things to do for all the family.

Whether you're native to the Capital or thinking of popping down over the Easter break (or any other time of year), you might be wondering how baby-friendly London really is.

Having a baby is like falling in love. At first, it's pure infatuation.

You spend days on end staring into your loved one's pupils. Nothing makes you prouder than stepping out with your little heartthrob.

Then the honeymoon wears off, and you're left with a clingy but taciturn life partner (approaching two decades) who turns his nose up at your food, makes eyes at strangers and farts ad lib.

Sleep deprivation takes its toll on even the most serene mama and if you're stuck indoors talking gaga all day, you might think about padding the walls.

What does Mother's Day mean to you? Waking up to half-burnt toast and handmade cards covered in crayon hearts? A special meal?

The anticipation of somebody calling you 'Mummy' for the very first time?

If this is your Mother's Day debut - whether you're hugging a bump or a baby - you might experience that inner glow, a feeling of being welcomed into a sacred circle.

Parenting advice. You can't escape it.

It starts from the minute you mention that you're trying to conceive. It spreads when your bump begins to show. And once baby arrives, it kicks in full force.

Cover his head, he's cold (actually he's sweating); Feed him, he's hungry (he's just vomited from eating too much); Put him down, you'll spoil him (because love and comfort ruins babies); Don't breastfeed him to sleep, he's using you as a dummy (that's actually quite insulting)... oh it goes on and on.

The other day, my friend Jo told me she'd found an old video of herself breastfeeding her baby girl.

'I'm going to post it on my Facebook page.'

Back in the day, I would have assumed she was simply sharing with friends and family.  But in the current climate, it's an act of defiance.  Jo is putting herself on the front lines of a grassroots movement that I'm dubbing Occupy your Breasts.

My name is Uju and I'm a blog evangelist.

You won't find me on street corners preaching the gospel of Wordpress.  But you might hear me nudging other mums in conversation, 'You should get into blogging...'  You see, I'm a true believer.

I believe blogging can be not only a sanity-saver, but a game-changer for new mums especially. It's enhanced my life beyond measure. And I'm not the only one.  More than 3,500 bloggers are signed up to www.britmums.com, the UK's largest parent blogging community. Blogging has gone from a geeky, even shifty activity (power to the shift key!) to being embraced by the mainstream.

'Na your pikin be dis?' (pidgin English for 'Is this your child?')

I was walking through Abuja airport, sweating under the weight of baby bag and my 9 month old on the hip seat carrier around my waist.

It was my first visit back to Nigeria to see my mum since I had a child and, although exhausted, I was bubbly with anticipation.  I was also aware of stares from passing strangers, eyes snapping wide at dark-skinned me and my baby with his pale skin, slanted eyes and jet black hair. An airport official marched over.

My youngest turns 3 next week ....

Jed's developing into a solid lad with actual knuckles instead of dimples and the ghost of a jawline emerging through the cheek fat.  But he's still my baby.

Jed and his older brother, Ezra, are three years and two weeks apart. Thinking back now to how I treated Ezra when I was heavily pregnant, I get choked up. I was so focused on my bump and then my newborn, expecting Ezra to be a big boy - essentially to 'man up'. The realisation that he was as little as Jed is now makes me want to reach back through the years and cuddle his tiny frame.

'When you're holding a newborn, suddenly your older child looks like a giant!' says Fenella, mum of two.

But your Gulliver is still a Lilliputian and needs extra TLC as you both enter strange territory.

What is it about Gwyneth Paltrow that sticks in the throat?

Is it the Renaissance woman smugness: Oscar winner! Earth mama! Lifestyle guru! Domestic goddess!  The glacial, prom queen sheen?

Or are we ever so slightly jealous that at 40 with two kids she's gone from macrobiotic string bean to uber hottie with the likes of Madonna and Beyonce on speed dial?

Whatever it is, she sure can grate (why of course, she's got her own cookbook!).  Now she's managed to whip both the right wing press and lefty elements of the blogosphere into a veritable soufflé.

Uju encourages you to love your post pregnancy body!

Pregnancy is a bit of a Jedi mind trick. For a while there you're all lightsabre glow, fab hair and va va voom bosom.

Months later, things start falling apart. From stretch marks and overhang to deflated boobs and hair shedding in clumps, the after-shock of birth can be a blow to any lady's self esteem.

But chin up, it's not all bloom and doom.

With a little research and chatting with some other mums, I've come up with 9 reasons to appreciate our bodies after giving birth.

Uju Asika, founder of London blog Babes About Town, investigates ....

I love the scene in the film Parenthood when Dianne Wiest's character finds out she's going to be a nana.

'I'm too young to be a grandmother,' she cries, 'I was at Woodstock, for Christ's sake. I peed in a field!'

Woodstock was before my time, but as a Gen X mum of two, I totally get where she's coming from. Sometimes I glimpse myself in 'pramouflage' (duvet coat, saggy jeans, old maternity cardi) and I wonder, who is that (strikethrough) bag lady person? It seems like only yesterday that I was dancing on a table in a Manhattan club, while Q-Tip and Jay Z popped Cristal in the next booth.

Nowadays you're more likely to find me sitting in the children's library, surrounded by toddlers, throwing finger shapes in gang-like affinity with other mums (West Side? Nope, Incy Wincy).